


Fake

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Awkward Flirting, Cooking, Coulson and Skye as equals, Coulson implementing Skye's op, Eating, F/M, Fate, Flowers, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hotels, Humor, Hydra, Infinity Stones, Inhumans (Marvel), Kissing, Kitchen Sex, Koenigs - Freeform, Lingerie, Quantum entanglements, Secret Missions, Secret Relationship, Sexual Content, Shopping, Sif getting quoted, Sif was right, Skye driving Lola, Undercover as a Couple, lanyards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 00:06:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3956998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Season 2 finale. Skye and Coulson use a fake relationship to cover over their secret CATERPILLAR operation.  Until it isn't fake anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dinner Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson asks Skye out to dinner to kick off their fake relationship.

"Welcome back."

Skye stopped in the hallway of the Playground, watching SHIELD agents around them go about their work.

The organization was growing. It made her a little nervous. She understood the necessity of it, adding "real" SHIELD to their ranks.

Things were just different now.

"We haven't seen much of each other lately," he continued.

"I've been on the road," Skye replied, crossing her arms, then walking towards Coulson.

"Would be nice to catch up," he suggested, the corner of his mouth catching.

She stared back at him, waiting.

"Do you want to get dinner?"

"Sure," she said, shrugging. "You know me, always hungry these days! Bottomless pit..."

"I was thinking maybe somewhere off base."

Skye looked around for a second to see if anyone was watching them, then she stepped closer to him.

"Are you...asking me out?"

"I'm _trying_ to," he said, lowering his voice.

"Isn't that against protocols or-"

He just stared back at her with a calm smile, his shoulders swaying slightly.

"Wouldn't be the first time, I guess. You breaking protocols."

"No," he said, relaxing a little. "Besides, I'm not sure it is. You are, after all, our Inhuman Liaison."

"I'm still a SHIELD agent, though."

"Special status," he said. "And I'm the SHIELD Liaison. _Diplomatic relations_."

"Mmm," she said, pressing her lips together. "Sounds perfectly reasonable."

"I thought so."

 

#

  
"It was _your_ idea."

"I know," she answered, her hands gripping Lola's wheel as they raced down the road.

It was her idea, and it make total sense, but it was also annoying having to play into people's ideas of what their relationship was about. To be sneaky about the fact that they were friends and that he meant so much to her.

Completely separate from that, was the fact that she was building a secret team of powered people to keep Inhumans off the Index.  And it was a lot of work.

Which is why they needed to meet off the books.

And this was the way she figured it easiest to pass information between them.

If they were called out by anyone inside SHIELD, they'd play up their roles as equals.

"I just don't want it to reflect badly on you," she said, glancing over at him after a long silence.

"Skye," he said, leaning back against the seat, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Don't worry about me. They already think I'm compromised. They said it. To my face."

"They could try to remove you as Director."

"They've already tried that, and it backfired on them. Even if this wasn't about a mission, we wouldn't be doing anything wrong."

"I have the flash drive on me," she said, glancing over at him. "We can just pass it here, then head back."

Coulson turned over his shoulder and glanced behind them at the stretch of freeway.

"No, we should get something to eat," he said. "They're tailing us."

Skye glanced in the rearview mirror and sighed.

"We knew that would happen, too."

"SHIELD, or someone else?" she asked.

"Not sure," he replied. "Does it matter? We're not exactly attempting to be inconspicuous."

"Lola isn't very covert, is she?" Skye grinned.

"Besides," he said. "I do want to catch up with you."

  
#

  
"I remember that face," he said, as Skye, stared back at him across the table.

"You do?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Yes," he nodded. "You were sitting next to me, in Lola, and you asked if I was going to show you something new?"

"Are you accusing me of flirting with you when we first met?" she huffed.

"Are you flirting with me now?"

"I'm _pretending_ ," she said, emphatically, leaning forward on her arms. "And anyway, what about you showing me your flying car?"

Coulson shrugged, popping an olive in his mouth. "You signed on, didn't you?" he answered, chewing, smiling as she laughed and shook her head, sitting back in her seat.

"How have you been, Skye?" he asked, looking down at the menu.

" _So_ busy," she said. "At least I'm not staying in roach motels, so thanks for seeing to that."

"The Koenigs are being useful or annoying?"

"Both," she said, taking a drink of her cocktail. "You know."

"Oh, I know," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. He'd had to interact a lot with them in the first month while he adjusted to losing his hand. Waking up to find a Koenig watching you sleep?

Now he knew how Captain Rogers felt.

"Still," she said, watching as the waiter passed their table. "It's nice to have someone to talk to. I haven't been on my own in awhile. I miss my friends."

The waiter came to their table and they sent him away after Skye admitted she hadn't even really read the menu.

"How about you?" she asked.

"Me?" he asked back. "I don't seem to get any time alone," he said with chagrin. "I'm being watched, and when I'm not, I'm being offered assistance."

He shrugged his damaged arm in its sling.

"Aren't we a funny pair," she said quietly, her eyes drifting down to the menu. "Fancy-schmancy."

She had mostly been hitting up street food vendors where she'd been. Keeping it local.

"You would die over these things called bourekas I had in Tel Aviv."

"Maybe we should hit the food trucks next," he said. "You might have an easier time deciding."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm distracted. If I get a hamburger that's boring, huh?"

"Not at all."

  
#

  
"So, this is it, right?"

"Doesn't have to be," he said. "I'm a slow mover."

She rocked back a little on her heels. "Yeah, well-"

Pushing up on her toes she pressed her mouth against his.

"I'm not," she said, letting her eyes drift up to his, as she patted the front of his shirt.

"Fair enough," he answered, peering back at her.

He smiled at her sweetly, letting out a breath then drawing his fingers along the side of her face.

"I have some new schematics for you to look at," he said. "Do you feel comfortable supervising the construction with Koenig?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding up at him. "But why not have Koenig-"

She stopped talking when he dipped his head to kiss her again. Nothing like the nervous kiss she'd given him seconds before. Soft, achingly slow.

Her eyes closed as she felt herself starting to kiss back, her hand tugging against the front of his shirt.

"I figured you for a good kisser," she said, as he quickly leaned away.

"Because Koenig," he continued, ignoring her comment. "Throws in Easter Eggs. Stuff like...lightsaber shaped levers. It's harmless, but ridiculous. I don't want it."

This time she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, and pulled him into her, opening her mouth against his as he barely slipped the tip of his tongue against hers before she drew back.

"We need to be careful," he said, the color in his face rising a little.

"I know," she smirked, taking Lola's keys out of her jacket pocket. "I left you a present."

Coulson looked surprised, then felt the small weight in his pants pocket, the flash drive she'd slipped in there.

"Huh, so you did," he said, seeming both embarrassed and amused.

"And what if I _did_ like kissing you?" she said, opening the door to sit behind the driver's seat.

He shut his door and looked over at her, eyebrows raised as though she had asked him a ridiculous question.

"Skye, I'm twice your age."

"I'm aware of that," she answered coyly, looking him up and down in the seat next to her.

Turning the ignition she pressed her foot down against the gas and revved the engine a few times.

Shaking his head with a sigh, he looked straight ahead as he buckled his seatbelt, hearing her laughing voice.

"Just drive."


	2. Hideaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye and Coulson stage an overnight planning session.

"Is this what couples do together? I'm not sure this is what couples do together."

"Are you uncomfortable?" she asked. "You could always wait outside."

Coulson looked at the wall in front of him lined to the ceiling with lacey underwear sets and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"You look horrified," she said, pushing her fingers against the bottom of his chin to close his mouth. "Relax."

"So this is your version of _next level_."

"We obviously want them to think we're sleeping together, right?" she asked, running her hand over the bright blue lace with the tiny matching bows. "That way, we can do overnights."

They really had some serious strategic planning sessions coming up. The construction project was in its last phases, and they'd just started testing on the containment and medical facilities.

Passing information back and forth over dinner dates wasn't going to cut it. They needed a block of time and to be left alone.

"They still might try to monitor us," he replied.

She looked at him in disbelief. "Even _I_ don't think SHIELD's that kinky."

"You'd be surprised," he said, looking towards the front entrance, seeing their loitering tail outside on the phone.

"Are we even sure it's SHIELD and not someone else?" she asked, finding her bra size and holding it up towards him.

"He had a lot of tattoos," Coulson said, looking back at her. "I didn't get a great look, but pretty sure SHIELD's not recruiting guys that draw swastikas on their arms."

"Ugh," she said, her eyes flickering up to his. "HYDRA."

"Yeah, but, with a certain Neo-Nazi flavor, right?"

She shook the underwear set in front of him, redirecting his attention.

" _No_ ," he said, pained, shaking his head at her. "That's Terrigen blue. Definitely not."

"Oh," she replied, turning her bottom lip upside down then staring back at the underwear.  It did have that almost neon-blue tinge to it.

"I didn't even think about that. Do you think that's some genetic memory thing, or-"

" _Bye_ ," he said, taking the hanger out of her hand and putting it back on the wall.

"C'mon," she said, trying not to laugh at him. "You can't be serious. It's just a color, _Phil_."

"You asked me what I liked," he said, feeling his face getting hot.

"You're right," she said, stepping closer to him, "I did."

She gave him a soft, quick kiss on the mouth, opening her eyes to watch him kiss her back for a moment.

"I know!" she said, turning away and reaching for another set. " _Red_ ," she said, shaking it in her hand. "Like Lola."

He pressed his lips together, pretty sure that he'd changed colors.

"Definitely red," she smirked.

  
#

  
"So...Skye," Koenig said, walking through the underground facility with Coulson.

"What about her?" Coulson asked, turning to look at him sternly.

"I picked up some chatter," he said. "They're definitely taking the bait."

"Alright," he answered, thinking it over. "Does May know?"

"Unclear," Koenig said, staring back at Coulson's deep frown.

They were in the containment wing of the base, Coulson stopping to look at the display panels and using the touch screen controls, to make sure his fingerprint access worked.

"Voice command?" Coulson said.

"Yes," Koenig replied. "But that can be faked. I'm working on DNA-coded-"

"Lanyards," Coulson answered, nodding along with Koenig. "Yes. Anything else on that HYDRA operative that was tailing us?"

"File is on your desk, and you're right. Wanted for domestic terrorism, Neo-Nazi connections, weapons smuggling..."

"I'm looking for another connection," Coulson said. "Who does he report to? Where is their base of operations?"

"Afraid that's been tough," he said. "Looks pretty loosey-goosey at the moment."

"Ward," Coulson said, breathing out, continuing to walk down the corridor. "It feels like Ward."

"Which means he wants something," Koenig said. "Should I send Billy to look after Skye?"

Oh, good. Now he knew which Koenig he was with. "Skye can take care of herself, Sam."

"Right," he said, moving again to follow after Coulson advancing. "About that other thing. Hotel Monaco in Alexandria."

"Nice," Coulson said. "Surveillance-friendly, out of the way, kind of has an old-world meets new-world feel? Skye would probably hate it, but it's romantic," he said, pressing his lips together and looking inside the containment room.

"Can we get something a little less institutional looking?  More homey?" he shrugged, staring back at Sam.  "This is a recovery facility." 

"Skye would _hate_ it?" he Sam replied, stressing the word. "It's a nice pad!"

"Too bougie," Coulson said, with a sigh. "What about the flowers?"

" _Those_ aren't bougie," he said. "Tiny white daisies," he rolled his eyes. "Yes. A whole bucket of them."

"Good," he said, smiling wistfully.

"She'll like those."

  
#

  
"This is totally going to happen," she said, pushing him up against the hotel door.

"After our shopping trip last week? Are you kidding me?"

As he kissed her back, he dropped the weekender bag in his hand, wrapping his arm around her back, tugging her body up against him.

She groaned into his mouth, parting her lips as he slid his tongue against hers, feeling his heart pounding against her hand on his chest.

"Get the hotel key?" he asked suddenly, as their lips parted, he let his head back against the door as he tried to catch his breath.

She reached down into the pocket of his jeans, and felt around inside, freezing for a moment at the realization that he was obviously turned on, and she had made contact.

He gave her an apologetic smile and looked away as she pulled the plastic card out of his pocket and quickly slid it up against the key reader.

Pushing open the door, she piled through as he picked up the bag and came in after her.

" _Coulson_ ," she said, turning over to look back at him, as he shut the door closed behind him with his shoulder and tossed the bag onto the bed. "You could've warned me."

" _Sorry_ ," he said with a sigh. "Involuntary response."

"Well, it felt _very_ voluntary," she said, going to the closet and opening the door stare down at the empty bottom.  Koenig had left them a bag there hidden with cloaking tech.

"Skye, you pinned me to the door," he reasoned. "I'm one-handed, remember?"

She found the zipper and looked into the black-lined interior to dig out the pad and started to sweep the room.

"Where's Ward's minion at?" she asked, holding up the pad to the vent in the bathroom.

Coulson peered out of the curtains towards the street. A front-facing room with no fire escape, and bookings on either side of them by Navy Seals and their wives, thanks to Talbot.

Good luck to you, Ward.

"Back on the street," Coulson answered. "Looking very annoyed and Hitler Youth-ish."

"All clear on this end," she said, starting to put the pad down. "We're not being watched electronically. I should do a spot check-"

Her eyes lined up with the bunch of flowers overflowing the large vase in front of her. Sitting on the small round table next to the window.

"Was this your-" she started to ask, as she reached out a hand to brush fingers over the flowers.

"It was," he said, walking away from the window and going to the bed to unpack the bag.

"Thanks," she said, blinking, then turning over her shoulder to look at him.

 

#

 

Skye yawned in her chair and closed her laptop.  "I have to take a break."

She stood up out of her chair and stretched.  They'd been at it for six hours straight.

They'd been evaluating a list of potential gifteds to approach as next steps in their operations.

Of course, she'd be in charge of the training, but she wanted his profiler's eye on her picks.

"You want another coffee?" he asked, pushing his chair away from the table.

"How about some room service?" she asked, "I'm starting to get hungry."

"We could go out," he offered, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I could use the walk."

"Yeah, our tail is probably getting antsy," she said, picking up her laptop and taking it back to the closet. 

"We should change," he suggested. "Dress for dinner?"

"Oh, right," she said, having to think about the undercover stuff again.

It had been nice just sitting here, being themselves, not having to pretend they were carrying on some kind of wild, romantic, sextastic holiday.

Yup. Nice.

"I'll go first," he said, watching her stare off at the wall.  He picked up his toiletry bag and went into the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack.

She went into motion again and opened up the closet, looking at the dress on the hanger. 

When was the last time she'd worn one of these?  It was just basic black and had plenty of stretch in case she had to run or kick someone's ass in it. 

Pulling the heels off the top shelf, she tossed them onto the bed.

Dotting her finger against her lower lip, she thought for a moment and then put the dress over her arm and went to the overnight bag, pulling the red lace underwear out.

"Hello my little undercover friends."

Turning back towards the bathroom, she saw Coulson frozen in place, staring at her.

"Talking to your underwear.  _That's_ sexy," he added sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes as she walked past him and closed the bathroom door shut behind her.

Exhaling, he did his very best to not picture her wearing it.


	3. Counts as a Win

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson wants to know why no one objects to his fake secret relationship with Skye.

"'Course I heard the rumors, everyone's heard the rumors."

Coulson watched Fitz fidgeting in the chair opposite his desk, looking away from him.

The fact that probably most of the base thought he and Skye were romantically involved wasn't what bothered him.

It was that no one had said anything about it. Not one word.

At least not to him.

He was going to ask Skye about it the next time they met up.

"You're not going to tell me it's a bad idea?" Coulson asked. "No...reasonable objections?"

"Maybe it's your Kree DNA," Fitz offered, raising his eyebrows.

"What does that mean?"

"It...could...be some sort of mating drive? Perhaps?" he offered.

"Mating drive," Coulson said, narrowing his eyes.

"'Cause you kind of had a problem keeping total control of that before," Fitz said, shifting in his seat as Coulson stood up from behind his desk and went to the wall.

He brought down a bottle of scotch, and then went back for a couple of glasses, pinching them together with his fingers.

"Care for any?" Coulson said, pouring a little into the bottom of one.

"No thanks," Fitz said, eyeing him. "It's the middle of the day. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Oh, I'm sure," Coulson said, picking up the glass, and looking back up at Fitz. "Mating drive my ass."

"So...are we done here?" Fitz said, sinking back into the chair.

  
#

  
" _Our alien mating drive_?!" Skye asked incredulously. "That's _so_ rude."

"I know," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed staring up at her, his hand on his lap.

"Enough with the _alien_ stuff already," she said, starting to pace in front of him.

"And that everyone is watching to see whether I'll be able to stay in control this time."

"That's really unfair," she said, stopping and putting her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

She sat down next to him on the edge of the bed and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It's not _really_ like it's backfired on us," she said. "They'll leave us alone, right?"

"As long as they think all I'm doing is building you an alien love nest.  They're monitoring everything else."

"You kind of are," she said, as he scowled over at her. "Building a secret alien love base?"

"Not funny, Skye," he said, pushing up off the bed to walk towards the window.

No tail today. Why wasn't there a tail?

"Tell me why it's bothering you this much," she asked.

He thought it over, then turned his head towards her in profile.

"Because, they're saying that my feelings for you aren't real. That I'm being controlled."

She followed him to the window, looking at his frustrated expression.

"What were you hoping for instead?" she said. "You said before, that even if we were doing this, we wouldn't be doing anything wrong."

"That I'm too old for you," he said. "That I'm your boss. That our connection is dangerous."

"You _want_ their disapproval," she said, jerking away from him, when he tried to put his hand on her arm.

" _Skye_ -"

"Those are all of _your_ objections," she said, walking away from him.

"My feelings for you are complicated," he called after her.

She picked the bag up off the dresser.

"Where are you going?" he asked, already starting to regret the way he'd let this unravel.

He should've thought more about it before he told her. It would've been better if he'd understood his own feelings before-

Shaking her head in disappointment, she tossed the bag on the bed, she went over and unzipped it, and pulled out what looked to be a bikini top.

"I am going to lay out by the pool and get some sun," she said, digging the other half of her swimsuit out of the bag.

"You're welcome to join me," she said, walking to the bathroom. "If that's not too complicated for you."

After she shut the door, he sunk down into the chair and ran his hand over his face.

  
#

  
"Bagged something for you."

Coulson looked up from the top of his desk in his office, at the folder he'd been staring at for the last 10 minutes.

Not really looking at it, though.

He squinted at the file in front of him, then turned it around to face him.

It was a file on the HYDRA agent who'd been tailing him and Skye.

Coulson bit on his lower lip before looking up at her.

"I don't know what it is, exactly, that you are Skye are doing," she began. "But I hope you don't think I'm actually stupid enough to believe that it's because your alien DNA is controlling you."

He sat back in his chair and stared back at her, frowning.

"I _know_ how you feel about Skye, Phil," she said.

"So you object," he answered, raising his chin slightly. Waiting to feel her disapproval hit him.

"No," she said, after a moment, her face relaxing. "Keeping it secret, though? You care too much about her to do that."

Coulson rolled his eyes at her. "Then why did you follow us?"

"Because I wanted to know just how big of a jerk you are," she said, smirking.

"And?" he asked.

"Just a little one."

Coulson sighed.

"I hope whatever it is the two of you are into, that it's worth it."

"Are you going to report your findings to the council?"

"Just to let them know that someone's attempting to restart HYDRA. Is there anything else I should mention?"

"No," he said, half-smiling as he watched her go. "Yes. I think it's Ward."

"You know that?" she asked, her eyes widening.

He shook his head. "Just my gut."

  
#

  
"Skye, why don't we talk this out?"

"Why don't you and your Aryan Boy Band here drop all your weapons before I drop you?"

The men standing behind Ward looked at one another then snickered.

"Been tracking you Skye," he said, crossing his arms. "You've been a busy girl."

She shook her head at him, as she balled her hands into fists.

Ward was after the same gifted she was. They'd put him up in a safehouse, but they'd tracked her here somehow.

Ward was trying to capture gifteds and he'd been using her to do it.

It made her blood boil.

"Calvin," Skye said to the boy behind her. "I want you to head for the back door. Don't turn around, keep going. There's a man outside waiting for you."

"You mean your one-handed boyfriend?" Ward said with a sneer, watching the boy take off then nodding his head as two of the men peeled off to follow him.

"Shame about that," he said through his teeth. "Probably means you do most of the cooking?"

She flexed her hands at the two men headed towards the door as the other remaining men's guns began to shake.

"No so fast," Ward said, swinging his billy club towards her, pressing a button on it.

He swung at her and she felt it cut through her seismic wave, doing something to her mental connection, then slicing across her arm.

"Cloaking tech. Neat, huh?"

"I can still take you without a weapon," she said, recovering, moving her hand over the wound then raising her hands in a defensive gesture.

"Like to see you tr-"

"Sorry I'm late, honey."

The lazer fire blasted the weapon in Ward's hand and sent it flying.

Ward glared up at Mike Peterson standing in the doorway.

Skye smirked and stared back over at Ward.

"Get him," Ward said to his men, gritting his teeth.

"You know this going to hurt, right?" Mike said to Ward, smiling, raising his weapon to fire again.

Ward turned back long enough to see Skye's boot connect with his face.

  
#

  
"How does he always manage to get away?" Skye said, whining, as Coulson applied anticeptic to her arm.

"His men didn't," he replied. "And we got Calvin out safely."

"He can track me and he knows how my powers work," she went on. "He's like if Dr. Kimble and Patrick Bateman had a baby."

"No more complaining," he said, taking out the bandage, and wrapping her arm carefully. "You did good."

"My first win?" she asked, looking down at him from her spot on top of the med table. "It counts as a win, right?"

"Yeah," he said, looking at her admiringly. "All done."

"Thanks," she said, running her hand over the bandage. "Ward's been watching us this whole time."

"That was nice of him to give us that detail," Coulson said, putting his hand out to help her to help her down off the table. "But Ward's never been one to keep his mouth shut," he frowned. "What else did he say?"

"He called you my one-handed boyfriend."

Coulson chuckled. " _Dick_."

"And that I probably had to do all the cooking."

"You probably would, if that were true," he said, kissing the top of her head as she snaked both of her arms around his middle for a hug.

"You should've seen his face when Mike showed up," she said, grinning against his shoulder "He wasn't expecting that," she continued looking up at him.

He looked over her whole face and then into her eyes, before leaning forward and giving her a simple kiss.

"You were really worried about me, huh," she asked, blinking back at him.

"No, not really," he admitted. "Or, more than usual. Although, maybe I should be-"

She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down towards her for another kiss.

" _Skye_ ," he sighed, against her lips.


	4. Tides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm saying, there are tides in the universe you cannot swim against." - Sif to Coulson.

"Quantum entanglement."

"That's how he was able to track Skye," Simmons said. "Her powers are quantum based, as Gordon's were."

"Somehow, you're connected," Fitz said at Coulson. "To Skye."

"Is this a real thing or a theory?" Skye asked, uncrossing her arms.

Fitz held up the device in his hand. "It's a modification of the one Weaver built to track Gordon, before it was sabotaged."

He pointed it at Skye. "It picks up your coordinates," he said.

Turning towards Coulson his hand went out, pointing the device at him.

"It's reading Coulson, but it's showing your coordinates." Fitz said, pointing a Skye. He nodded in confirmation as he looked at the display.

"There's so much we don't know about quantum entanglements," Simmons said, sensing their discomfort. "Before we try to draw any further conclusions, I think we should study it more thoroughly."

"Agreed," Fitz added.

Coulson nodded as they both left his office together.

"Phil," Skye said looking up at him. "I need you to do something."

"What?" he asked, looking down briefly, then up at her.

"Can you classify those files, at least until we know more? If all of our powers are quantum-based..."

He walked towards her and ran his hand along her arm. "Yeah. I know."

"At least we know how Ward was tracking us," she said. "We can counter it. Since he likes cloaking technology so much, let's see how he likes ours."

"It'll keep him busy, anyway," Coulson said. "And we can use it to mask gifteds on their radar."

Watching her walk to the monitor, she crossed her arms looking at SHIELD's global tracking of gifted sightings. All the little dots on the map blinking in real time.

"How did things go with Calvin?"

"That's not his name anymore," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "It's okay. He's adjusting. Andrew said that having a foster family should provide him with some stability."

"I'd hoped it would work out," he said. "Instead of just you and Mike running ops."

"He was just a kid," Skye said, staring back at the screen. "It's better this way."

  
#

  
"I've been thinking about all that stuff," he said, tossing a rock across the water, trying to skip it.

It bounced once, then sank, as then they both watched the ripples go out across the still creek.

"If you had the chance, if you would break it?" she asked, rubbing her fingers together.

The quantum entanglement stuff had made them both uneasy. And now that their...whatever they were...was out in the open, it seemed easier for them to make an escape because it looked like they were fighting, rather than pulling together.

"No," he said, turning to her. "What if the reason that I came back, was for you?"

Skye stared back at him, her eyes widening, she started to chuckle.

"What are you talking abo-"

"Sif told me that there are tides in the universe you can't swim against," he said.

"Sif was talking about us?" she asked, blinking back at him. This was he first she'd heard of this.

"She was suggesting something about forces beyond our control," he said, easing down onto the bank, so that he didn't lose his balance. "At first I dismissed it."

Skye followed and sat down next him, bending her knees and wrapping her arm around them.

"You know about the weapon that killed me," he said to her.

"Yeah," she answered. "It was alien and Thor's crazy half-brother had a hand in it. I read the file on it when I first joined up. Okay, I hacked your file when I first joined up," she confessed, smirking and looking down at the rocky sand beneath them, tracing shapes in its surface.

"I'm aware," he said smiling over at her. "When we went to rescue Mike and Lincoln, I found more information on it. The Avengers captured it at a HYDRA base with the intel I provided. They'd been using it to experiment on people."

"Ahh," she said knowingly. "That's why you weren't leading the rescue."

"Yes," he answered. "Maria sent me the data later. There was more to it than just being alien."

"Like wha-," she began, then reached towards him, sliding his aviators off his face and folding them. "That's better."

"There was a stone inside of it," he went on. "Something powerful. Way beyond our capacity to understand. Like the Tesseract."

"And you think this stone somehow created a cosmic link between us?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I survived Project:TAHITI, and on my first post-recovery mission, I meet you," he said, picking up a rock and tossing it into the water with a thunk.

"Coincidence?"

Skye stared off across the water again, frowning, looking at the ripples. "So what you're saying is, you don't have control."

"No," he said, shrugging. "Clearly, I do. But the tide is moving in one direction."

"My powers, Project: TAHITI, your carving. The temple," she said. "All connected."

"Yes."

"So what now?" she asked, looking back at him.

"Now, we go have lunch."

  
#

 

"What if I don't want it to be about me?"

"Sorry," he said, leaning across the island, watching her stir the pasta sauce. "Blame the universe."

They'd been going back and forth about this all day. Somehow, she'd managed to talk him into giving away his family pasta sauce recipe, but based on the way the conversation had been going, he probably figured he was a goner.

"How are you going to react if the Avengers try to recruit you?" he said. "Oh, don't mind me, just a master hacker who is trained as a SHIELD specialist and can shake weapons apart by blinking. What size crater would you like?"

"You make me sound so impressive," she said, turning towards him.

"Because you are," he said, taking the wooden spoon from it and putting it into his mouth to taste the sauce. "Mmm. Now you can add that to your list of accomplishments."

She took the spoon back from him tasted it herself. "That is pretty good."

Setting it on the stove, she turned the burner off.

"What if it's about us," she said, resting her wrists against his neck. "What if it's a 'we'?"

"I'd like that," he said, letting his hand rest on her hip, humming as he felt her nails gently scratch against the back of his scalp. "That, too."

Whatever hesitation had settled between them from the day before evaporated as he found himself pushed up against the kitchen wall, her hands pressed against his shoulders, as he chased after her mouth, wanting her again.

This was different from what they had shared a few days ago, alone in the med lab, in their secret base. This had the weight of consequence, of forces they couldn't control.

Exciting and frightening. Hopeful and hopeless.

"I don't want to fight this anymore," she said.

Fighing? Who was fighting?

"Me either," he said, guiding her back with his hand, kissing her in fitful bursts, until she was against the kitchen island. "Up."

She hopped up onto the counter, as he cupped her face in his hand and kissed her softly, moving in closer to her until her legs were wrapped around his waist.

Fingers at the bottom of his t-shirt, she tugged it up until she had it over his head, then carefully took apart the sling on his arm, sliding it off, and slipping the shirt down his damaged arm, setting them on the counter next to them.

Her hand traced over the scar on his chest, then down his arm, before she tipped his face up to look at her.

"We've always moved in the same direction," she said.

"Yes," he said, before she dragged him into her arms. Her hands tracing over the contours of his body, feeling the muscles across his back and sliding down to where his waist narrowed, as he nipped and sucked his way down her neck.

His hand gripped her shirt and pulled it up as she wiggled out of it, making her hair fall around her bare shoulders once it was gone. The fact that she was naked beneath it made him almost unbearably aroused.

She touched his wrist with her fingers and lifted his hand to put his palm against her breast. As he switched between them between kisses, her legs went tighter around his center.

"Can you-" she started, impatiently pulling at the waist of her sweatpants, letting him tug them down as she lifted off the counter. She pulled him in by the waistband of his jeans and started to get them loose.

He was watching her hands work between them, completely entranced at touching the smooth skin of her thighs, running his fingers up and down them, until she had her hands on him, stroking him with one and pulling down his boxers with the other.

Leaning until her back was against the counter, she shivered at its cool for a moment and then guided him inside of her as he slowly pushed into her.

It took his breath away, watching her face, feeling her surround him as he leaned over her to kiss her again, her body under him, her tongue pressing between his lips, parting them to touch his, as he kissed her deeply, working his hips against her in short, shallow strokes, drinking in her sighs and tiny moans.

His hand gripped the other edge of the counter, and he began to move faster, deeper, grunting as he felt her tighten, her legs around him urging him on.

" _Skye_ ," he said, staring down at her, as she opened her eyes, and ran her fingers along his face, down his neck.

There was a tingling washing over him, warm, like a wave.

"Skye-" he called out, crashing into her, burying his face in her neck, feeling her legs jerk against him.

Her fingers relaxed against his back and she gave a happy sigh, then yawned, laying back against the counter.

"I'm hungry."

He leaned down and kissed her, wearing a smile.

Sif had been right.


End file.
